2024 4th International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Social Networking (ICPCSN)

The Roadside Garbage Collection Robot

2024 4th International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Social Networking (ICPCSN) | 979-8-3503-8634-9/24/$31.00 ©2024 IEEE | DOI: 10.1109/ICPCSN62568.2024.00139

Vikas J. Nandeshwar Vishwatej M. Shende Arya B. Shinde

DESH DESH DESH
Vishwakarma Institute of Technology Vishwakarma Institute of Technology Vishwakarma Institute of Technology
Pune, Maharashtra, India Pune, Maharashtra, India Pune, Maharashtra, India
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Rishi R. Shendre Lokesh P. Shengolkar Darshan N. Shinde

DESH DESH DESH
Vishwakarma Institute of Technology Vishwakarma Institute of Technology Vishwakarma Institute of Technology
Pune, Maharashtra, India Pune, Maharashtra, India Pune, Maharashtra, India
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Abstract— The world is currently grappling with a research in this field, finding an efficient solution has proven
significant garbage crisis, which is a result of the prevailing to be elusive. However, with the advent of garbage collection
issues of quick economic expansion, inadequate urban robots, we now have the opportunity to collect and dispose of
planning, overpopulation, corruption, and political waste properly and manage it effectively. Unfortunately, the
inefficiency. It is becoming increasingly evident that there is robots developed thus far have not been precise or accurate,
a need to develop a robust waste management strategy to
and most of them are controlled manually and lack
monitor the accumulation of garbage on roadsides,
footpaths, schools, and colleges. Therefore, this research robustness. Our project robot, on the other hand, will function
study explains the design of a garbage collection robot that with precision efficiently collecting and disposing of waste.
uses IoT technology such as a Bluetooth application. This Its implementation will benefit numerous individuals and
research study aims to design and make a Roadside Garbage significantly reduce human labor.
Collection Robot (Automatic Garbage Collector). This robot
model serves as an automatic garbage collector, which can
effectively and efficiently tackle the problem of garbage II. LITERATURE REVIEW
accumulation. Various existing models are capable of collecting of garbage.
Keywords— Arduino, Garbage, Ultrasonic sensor, IoT
Let's discuss a few models based on the survey:

I. INTRODUCTION The robot by K Kamal et al. [1] can move with an average
Maintaining cleanliness in the environment is crucial for speed of 0.5m/s but the robot developed is yet to be improved
to operate automatically and control from long distances.
various reasons. There are several issues related to the
cleaning of the environment. One of the major issues is the
improper disposal of waste, which leads to pollution of land The robot by Kavya.C et al.[2] is flexible to be used in various
and water bodies. There are several issues related to the environments. The robot uses IoT technology yet the ways
cleaning of the environment. One of the biggest are not mentioned in clarity
environmental concerns today is the amount of litter that is
found on roadsides and public spaces. Despite various efforts The Robot by Ayub Mulani et al.[3] has used Raspberry Pi
by organizations to reduce littering, it seems to be a growing for garbage detection and has also attached a camera to the
problem [1]. However, there is a potential solution in the form model but the robot is yet to achieve accuracy in detection.
of garbage-collecting robots. These machines can
autonomously navigate through public spaces and collect The robot by N.Varuneshreddy et al.[4] is made to operate on
sand by the beachside. Images from the IP camera are sent to
trash, which could significantly reduce the amount of litter on
the computer and are processed in the Bluetooth module and
the streets. With the advancement of technology, it's exciting
to see how these robots could positively impact the garbage is detected.
environment.
Until now, there has been a lot of interest and development in The research by Tawanda Mushiri et al.[5] emphasizes on the
service robots for cleaning swimming pools, houses, walls, designing of the robot in a way that it will be able to
and domestic stairs. However, cleaning robots for roadsides efficiently collect garbage.
have not received as much attention. This paper presents the
development of a prototype for a roadside cleaning robot. The robot by Saravana kannan G et al.[6] detects garbage
Nowadays, the way of cleaning up roadside waste is by hiring using image processing. Various features in images like
manual laborers. However, industries are shifting towards color, and size are considered in MATLAB.
automation and it should also be applied efficiently towards
waste management. Manual labor is the traditional way for The Robot by Hesham Alsahafi et al.[7] can detect metallic
employment yet there are problems associated with cleaning and nonmetallic garbage in specific areas. The size of the
up garbage by human laborers. robot is small and it can work only in specific areas.
In the present era, as countries continue to develop at an
unprecedented pace, a significant amount of unwanted waste The Robot by Osiany Nurlansa et al.[8] is designed of the
is being generated, including electronics, plastics, and steps: requirements analysis, design, manufacturing, and
various biodegradable products. Despite considerable

979-8-3503-8634-9/24/$31.00 ©2024 IEEE 825

DOI 10.1109/ICPCSN62568.2024.00139
Authorized licensed use limited to: INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GUWAHATI. Downloaded on February 21,2025 at 06:09:57 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 testing. It is capable of automatically picking up garbage on voltage is required, and it comes from an external power
the water. source as the Arduino is unable to handle a large amount of
current that draws from all of them. The power source ought
The robot by Bharathi V et al.[9] collect garbage in a highly to handle 2A of current. Once the connections are done the
effective manner, without any need for human intervention. Arduino Coding is started.
It uses an IR sensor as well as ultrasonic sensor for detection.

The robotic arms designed by Abhiraj Bhalerao et al.[10] is a

fully automatic system but one can operate it manually also.
The robotic arm has a wide range of applications, including
material handling, object sorting, welding, grinding, and
spray painting.

In the research paper by Thota Arun et al.[11], the robot

detects objects using an IR sensor and a moisture sensor is
attached to the bin to detect the level of garbage collected. A
web page is also created to display the trash level present in
the bin.

The robot made by H.G.T. Milinda and B.G.D.A.

Madhusanka[12] is used for cleaning floors in domestic
households. An image acquisition camera is used for image
processing. Mud detection is also implemented based on Fig. 1. Circuit diagram of robotic arms
color and area.
The robotic arms are flexible as they consist of 5 degrees of
The robot was made by H.M.R.G. Herath et al. [13] is a beach freedom. The parts of the robotic arms are 3D printed and
cleaning robot that has a high-performance electrical motor are assembled with the help of screws.
to drive the robot and uses the IoT platform to indicate the
level of the garbage tray remotely. Flowchart for robotic arm movement: In Fig 2. the robotic
arms will begin in their initial position. Once the ultrasonic
detects the waste object, the wheels will stop at the threshold
III. METHODOLOGY distance. As the IR sensor detects the garbage the arms will
A. Components: Arduino MEGA 2560 Rev3, Servo and move to pick it up. If the garbage is not detected the arms will
DC motors, IR Sensor, Ultrasonic sensors, HC05 remain stationary.
Bluetooth Module, wheels, wooden plank, wires,
cluster wheels, PVC pipes, etc.
The main frame of the robot: The wooden board is of
dimensions 27x27x5 cm. At the backside of the robot, a
dustbin is attached which is of dimensions 12x20cm.
The reason for choosing ultrasonic sensors was that the
sensor can measure the distance between itself and the object.
The ultrasonic sensor also allows it to put up a threshold
distance by which it can measure the distance up to that point.
In this way, when the sensors are attached to the robot and
when set up with a threshold distance the ultrasonic sensor
will detect the distance between the robot and the garbage.
After that, the IR sensor will emit the IR light and the IR
receiver shall check for the reflected light. If the light gets
reflected by hitting the garbage in front of it, then the IR
receiver receives this light, and the object is then detected.
The robotic arms are programmed in such a way that when
the IR receiver receives the signal and the ultrasonic sensors
detect the distance between them, the arms will move and
pick up the garbage.

Fig 1. below is the circuit diagram of the robotic arms used in

our project. Arduino mega 2560 Rev3 and hc05 Bluetooth
module is needed for controlling and connecting mobile
phones to the robot respectively. Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3
has 54 digital input/output pins and it comes with more
memory space and, a bigger size. To power the servos 5V

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 C. Design of the robot: The utilization of Tinkercad, a free
3D modeling program renowned for its user-friendly
interface, enabled us to design our robotic arm with
utmost precision. By employing this software, it can
determine the optimal measurements that would facilitate
the efficient construction of the robot. In addition, its
simulation capabilities provided us with substantial
insights regarding the working principle of the robotic
arm, thereby imparting a scientific understanding of the
system. There were many options for designing the robot
but this design as proposed in [5] has better efficiency in
picking and placing garbage.

Fig. 2. Flowchart for arms movement

Fig. 4. Proposed model of the robot
B. Block Diagram of the robot: The Fig 3. block diagram
depicts that instructions to the robot will be transmitted
through the Arduino Mega 2560 Rev3 microcontroller. IV. WORKING PRINCIPLE
The block diagram of a robot encompasses diverse
components, including sensors, microcontrollers, power
supply, motors, and communication modules, which
operate concertedly to ensure the robot's optimal
functionality. The block diagram not only facilitates the
comprehension of the information and signal flow
between the different components but also illustrates the
robot's interaction with its surroundings and reception of
commands from external sources. The Bluetooth module
HC05 is connected to the smartphone through a small app
developed (Netra App). Fig. 5. Testing of DC Motors with HC05 Bluetooth module

The ultrasonic ranging module is a versatile component that

allows for non-contact measurements ranging from 2cm to
400cm, with an impressive accuracy of up to 2mm. The
module is composed of ultrasonic transmitters, a receiver, and
a control circuit. To use it effectively, you need to follow
these steps: 1. Use an IO trigger to send a high-level signal
that lasts for at least 10 microseconds. 2. The module
transmits eight 40 kHz signals and waits for one pulse signal
to bounce back. 3. If any signal is detected at a high level, the
duration of the high output IO signal is the time it took for the
ultrasonic signal to travel to the object and back. You can use
this time to calculate the test distance using the formula:
distance = (time x velocity of sound in air (340m/s) / 2)[1].

Fig. 3. Block diagram of the robot

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 will be picked up by the gripper part attached to the robotic
arm.
The robotic arms are designed using Solidworks 3D software
which we purchased [9]. The arm of the robot has 5 degrees
of freedom. Only the shoulder, wrist roll, and gripper parts of
the robot were used. The Arduino coding was done in such a
way that the angles of the shoulder, wrist, and gripper were
already set. A threshold distance is set in the ultrasonic
sensor. When the sensor detects the distance, and the IR
sensor detects the garbage the robot stops and the elbow first
rolls down, then the shoulder to bring the arm to the ground
level then the gripper grabs the garbage, and the elbow and
shoulder go back to their original position. Then the gripper
drops the collected garbage into the dustbin attached at the
Fig. 6. Real-time graph of Ultrasonic sensor readings back. For the first 3 axes namely, the base, the shoulder, and
the elbow, we have used the MG996R servos, and for the
Fig 6. depicts the graph on which the X axis represents the other 2 axes, the wrist roll and wrist pitch, as well as the
time in seconds and the Y axis represents the distance
gripper we have used the smaller SG90 micro servos. After
between the sensor and garbage.
picking up the object/waste, all servos will produce a
combined motion to drop the object/waste in the dustbin.
An IR sensor is a device that can sense the presence of an
Then, the Arm will come to its original position. All these
object in its surroundings by emitting infrared light. The
tasks will be performed repeatedly.
sensor works by using an IR LED to emit light and an IR
photodiode to detect the light. When the light is reflected by
HC-05 is a Bluetooth module used to perform wireless
an object and falls on the photodiode, its resistance and output
communication. It uses serial communication to
voltage change in proportion to the amount of light received.
communicate with the devices and it communicates using a
There are two types of IR sensors: Active and Passive. Active
serial port (USART) with the microcontroller. Its range is
infrared sensors consist of an infrared source and an infrared
<100m depending on the transmitter, receiver, and
detector, while passive infrared sensors only have a detector.
geographic conditions. The robot is controlled using the
Hence an active IR sensor is used to detect the object. The
Netra app that is connected to the robot using the HC-05
energy emitted by the infrared source is reflected by an object
Bluetooth module.
and falls on the infrared detector, which helps detect the
presence of the object.

Fig. 8. Remote Control of the Robot using Netra App

Fig. 7. IR sensor readings when object is detected

Fig 7. depicts the readings of IR sensor when the object is

detected. Along with that the distance is also displayed in the
output.

The robot has been set up with three ultrasonic sensors to

increase the accuracy of object detection. Ultrasonic sensors
have a specific range for detection which is limited. So, to
have maximum detection 3 ultrasonic sensors are used. In this
way, if the left or right-side sensor detects the garbage the
sensor will be able to detect garbage more accurately.
The Ultrasonic Sensors will detect objects/waste which will
come in the path of the robot then the Robotic Arm will get
the exact coordinates of the object/waste and then the object

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 V. RESULTS & DISCUSSION TABLE I. PERCENTAGE ERROR ANALYSIS OF THE ANGLES

A. Review Stage: Parts of Arm Elbow Grip

Arm

Angle 1
estimated 95 55 75

Actual
105 45 60
Angle 1

Error 1 in
% -9.52 22.2 25

Angle 2
18 130 9
estimated

Actual
Angle 2 15 155 7

Error 2
20 -16.12 28.57
Fig. 9 Actual setup of the robot in %

Table 1. represents the percentage error in the angles of the

The design of the proposed robot has been improved for
robotic arms. The actual angle values were used to do the
increased efficiency by utilizing three wheels instead of four.
coding of robotic arms with the help of servo motors. The
The back of the robot is supported by two large wheels that
average of the two errors =(12.56+10.81)/2=11.68.The
balance the weight of the dustbin, while two cluster wheels at
precision of the arms calculated is very low. To increase the
the front enable improved maneuverability. With this design,
precision of the arms, a powerful servo motor and a good
our robot can move effectively and efficiently to perform its
power supply are required.
tasks. At first, the team faced a lot of issues while checking
the angles of the robotic arms because the servos and Arduino
could not sustain the weight of to object, and more power was The coding for the arms was done and the robot was able to
needed to perform smooth functions. Connecting the Arduino be controlled with the help of connecting the hc05 Bluetooth
to the Bluetooth module and operating through the Netra app module to the mobile app. The robot can pick up and place
was also a challenge. Despite the challenges, the robot can be the garbage in the bucket. It's also possible to control the
controlled through the Netra app. robot with the voice command feature present in the Netra
app. The unique feature of the robot is that it is robust and
designed so that there will be less wear and tear of the robot.
B. Final Stage Other previously made robots are delicate and smaller in size.
Assess the arm's ability to carry and manipulate objects of The robot is perfectly balanced and can be operated in all
different weights. This involves testing the torque and types of environments. The entire robot is cost-effective and
payload capacity of each servo motor Evaluate the accuracy also is big in size. The limitations faced while implementing
of the robotic arm's movements. This can be done by the robot were the lack of availability of hardware materials,
instructing the arm to move to specific positions and less power supply by the battery, as well as finances required.
measuring how closely it reaches the target points. Test the
repeatability of the robotic arm by instructing it to perform a
series of tasks repeatedly. Check if it consistently achieves VI. CONCLUSION
the same results. It's important to acknowledge the physically demanding
nature of garbage pickup work and the occupational hazards
that come with it. That's why it's great to see the development
of a robot that can eliminate the health risks associated with
manual waste collection. This solution is not only beneficial
for environmental maintenance, but it also reduces the need
for human intervention in garbage maintenance and pollution
monitoring. It's worth noting that the mechanical design of
the robotic arm needs to be researched further to improve the
robot's functionality. However, there is still potential for this
robot to operate automatically and with good accuracy . There
is still a lot of scope for future research in the field of robotics
and automation. In the future, garbage collection and
management is going to be a serious issue due to the lack of
human laborers and the increasing population which
eventually will lead to an increase in garbage. There will be
a need for garbage collection robots to reduce human labor
and manage waste efficiently.

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 VII. FUTURE SCOPE REFERENCES
The objective was to design a robot capable of gathering
objects from specific areas such as roadside, colleges, [1] Design of Garbage Collection Robot using wireless technology
[2] Garbage Collection Robot using IOT B.E.Student, Dept. of Electrical
schools, and others. Our vision is to expand the usage of this
and Electronics Engineering, Vivekanandha College of Engineering
robot across various fields. To achieve this, we aim to for Women[Autonomous], Namakkal, India.
enhance the automation of the robot and improve its object [3] Wireless Communication Based Garbage Collection robot on the
detection accuracy. The accuracy of the robot can be beach. PROF. AYUB MULANI, KARISHMA PIRJADE,
HARSHADA WALHE, SWAPNALI KANADE Department of
increased by using better servo motors and reducing the
Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering Shalaka Foundation
stiffness of the robotic arms. Raspberry Pi can enable the Keystone School of Engineering, Pune.
robot to produce efficient results and improve the overall [4] Garbage Collection Robot on the beach using wireless communications
performance of the robot. We also plan to add a lid or Student, Department of ECE, SRM Institute of Science and
Technology, Ramapuram, India
covering for the dustbin attached as open waste can lead to
[5] Wireless Communication Based Garbage Collection.
the breeding of mosquitoes and other diseases. The team is [6] Automatic Garbage separation robot using image processing
also working towards adding more features such as sweeping technique. Saravana kannan G, Sasi kumar S, Ragavan R, Balakrishnan
and implementing more efficient cleaning methods beyond M
[7] Design and Implementation of metallic waste Collection robot.
just picking. In this way, the reliability of the robot is
Hesham Alsahafi, Majed Almaleky. Advisor: Prof. Tarek Sobh
increased. It can be made to handle harsh environments and Robotics, Intelligent Sensing & Control (RISC) Laboratory, School of
is robust. Engineering, University of Bridgeport.
[8] AGATOR (Automatic Garbage Collector) as Automatic
[9] Garbage Collector Robot Model OsianyNurlansa, Dewi Anisa
ACKNOWLEDGMENT Istiqomah, and MahendraAstuSangghaPawitra, Member, IACSIT.
[10] ]Automatic BinBot - Garbage Collecting System using IoT Bharathi V
The authors would like to thank Vishwakarma Institute of Asst prof, Gayathri K, Jayashree S, Kiruthika D, Maheswari P
Technology for their support in completing this project and Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering.
thank you to Prof. (DR.) Chandrashekhar Mahajan (Head of [11] Garbage Collection Robot and Monitoring System Using Wireless
Communication Thota Arun1, Divyavani K1, Boini Varun1, Peter
Department, DESH), College Workshop, and The Robotics Moshe1, K.Vasanth1, P.Marish Kumar2, Srinivasan K S3.
Forum (TRF) club for guiding us through difficulties. [12] Multi-Functional Floor Cleaning Robot for Domestic Environment
H.G.T. Milinda and B.G.D.A. Madhusanka.
[13] Design and Implement of Beach Cleaning Robot by H.M.R.G. Herath,
G.C.B. Weerasinghe, M.W.S.B. Jayasooriya, K.K.N. Dharmarathna.

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